Facebook announce new privacy settings in response to #DeleteFacebook backlash

The social media platform has come under fire in recent weeks following the furore over the Cambridge Analytica scandal

Facebook has announced a raft of new changes to its privacy settings following a backlash from some users who were threatening to leave the social media platform over the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal.

The platform has come under fire this month following the scandal, which has seen the political data firm Cambridge Analytica be accused of harvesting millions of Facebook users’ profiles to help target and influence groups of the electorate on social media – particularly during Donald Trump’s 2016 Presidential campaign.

The backlash Facebook received was swift following the news, with some users starting the #DeleteFacebook movement online in an effort to encourage people to leave the Mark Zuckerberg-owned platform.

Facebook’s chief privacy officer Erin Egan explained in a post that the new privacy features “have been in the works for some time”, but they have only been introduced now following recent events which “underscore[d] their importance”.

Among the improvements to Facebook’s privacy settings are new privacy shortcuts (Facebook say you can now control your privacy in “just a few taps”), a new section called ‘Access Your Information’, and an improved method of downloading the data you’ve shared with the platform in case you wish to move it to another service.